When night falls, the creatures emerge. People sleep; others work. Some engage in nefarious activities, and others just want to go home.
I don’t know who this girl was. She was well-dressed, well-made up, and seemed to be waiting for someone. As I boarded my taxi home, I saw her talking to some men in a jeep. They did not look like her friends.
Before we rush to judge her, it may be worth pausing. First, she may have been waiting for friends, family, or something else. If it was for ‘business,’ ask why she needs to do ‘business’ and ask if it is your concern or mine.
India has changed and so has Delhi. Social mores have changed: some for the better and many for the worse.
A driver lay back in his car, waiting for his passengers, one foot out. So many drivers sit in their cars, lounging back, one foot sticking out, flapping in the breeze or the hot air. Their bosses discourage them from sitting in the car and using the aircon and then complain when their drivers smell of sweat.
The poor blokes are forbidden to sleep (even when bored) or to use the air-conditioning while waiting or to sweat. So they flap one foot in the air and signal their presence.
Auto-rickshaw drivers waited for passengers, but the girl wasn't looking for an auto-rickshaw.
Water gathers on the streets and cozies up with the rubbish dumped there. One man was charging his EV. The ice cream vendor stood, waiting for a customer.
A crazy driver on a two-wheeler decided to ram into me while driving the wrong way but thought the better of it at the end, swerved, and missed me by half a whisker.
The creatures of the night emerge around midnight but I was looking forward to my bed at home.
